Quote:Hungary will hold a referendum on the EU’s mandatory quota system for relocating refugees, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said Wednesday, as he accused the EU of an “abuse of power.”

Orbán said a vote to reject the EU plan was a vote “in favor of Hungary’s independence.” He said the referendum question would be: “Do you want the European Union to prescribe the mandatory settlement of non-Hungarian citizens in Hungary even without the consent of parliament?” No date for the referendum has been given.

The prime minister said that imposing quotas without asking national parliaments was an “abuse of power.”

EU countries are supposed to relocate 160,000 migrants under a plan agreed in September last year, but only a tiny percentage of the promised target have been moved. Under the scheme, Hungary is supposed to take in 1,294 refugees.

Hungary will hold a referendum on 2 October on whether to accept mandatory EU quotas for relocating migrants, President Janos Ader has said.

The country's right-wing government opposes a plan to relocate an extra 120,000 refugees across the bloc.

The scheme was announced last September as Europe was coping with the worst refugee crisis since World War Two.

Hungary sealed its border with Serbia and Croatia and criminalised illegal entry in an effort to curb the influx.

The measures, led by prime minister Viktor Orban, were popular at home but criticised by rights groups.

Before they were taken, the country had become a transit state on the Western Balkan route to Germany and other EU destinations favoured by migrants and refugees.

In a statement, Mr Ader said voters will be asked the question: "Do you want the European Union to be entitled to prescribe the mandatory settlement of non-Hungarian citizens in Hungary without the consent of parliament?"